The Playoffs Begin

Well, there's good news and bad news for the Detroit Tiger fan. The good news is that they are in the post-season for the first time in 19 years. The bad news is they are on a five-game losing streak and didn't win the division, and so must play the evil New York Yankees in the first round.

As it turned out, the Tigers only needed to win one game from the Kansas City Royals, the worst team in baseball, over the last weekend. They had won all but one game against the Royals all year, and they would be home. On Friday night they blew a five-run lead, on Sunday they blew a six-run lead. The pitching, which had been their strong suit all season, completely abandoned them (there was some shoddy defensive play as well). And so, for the first time all season, the Minnesota Twins moved into first place, and at a most opportune time.

After losing three games to the Royals, there can't be a lot of hope in Tigertown. This team has to be dispirited. I was a little perturbed to see so much celebrating going on last Sunday, when they clinched a playoff spot, because there was so much work still to be done. Unless the pitching gets into focus, the Tigers will be lucky to win one game, and I don't even see that happening.

As for the other series, the Twins-As should be more competitive, but I like the Twins with home field and two starts by Johann Santana. In the NL, the Padres should take care of the slumping Cards, who also backed into the playoffs. I also like the Mets over the Dodgers, even though a lot of experts are picking the Dodgers because of a superior starting staff, and because the Mets will be without Pedro Martinez. But I like the Mets lineup to overcome that.